March 21, 2006

By ROB CLARK / Quick

Prince B- 3121 (Universal Motown)

The re-emergence of Prince was one of music's feel-good stories of 2004. His Musicology album earned two Grammys, and he scored the year's most successful tour in North America.

It was as if the mainstream had forgotten how brilliant his blend of funk, soul, rock and pop can be. After seeing him onstage, where Prince really has no peer, the dry spell of hits and that name-change confusion were forgotten.

So the purple party got bigger. Now Prince wants to make you dance. He sounds energized, even joyful on 3121, and he aims to appeal to all sides of his audience. But darting in so many directions can make an uneven experience, and the album suffers for it.

Take "Lolita," which is Prince at his poppiest. The synth-heavy song about a woman "much too young to peep my 'stache" is infectious but ends up overdosing on sugar. It makes "Raspberry Beret" look like "Fight the Power."

"Black Sweat," on the other hand, is the album's champion and his funkiest single in a decade. A fuzzy drum thump, some electronic whirring and Prince's sultry squeals call to mind a gritty update of "Kiss."

Prince's guitar work is often subdued on record. On "Fury," he finally lets it fly. It actually rocks harder live, as shown by his recent performance on Saturday Night Live. The acoustic strum that paces "The Word" is equally effective, and the song offers the album's loveliest melody.

The ballads are where things go south. The Latin-laced "Te Amo Corazon" features elegant instrumentation but little vocal spark. "Satisfied" is one of those bluesy falsetto romances he could make in his sleep. "The Dance" borders on dreary.

Maybe such ups and downs are inevitable with talents as diverse as Prince's. Things can get a little scattered. Though the clutter can clog the flow on 3121 – that's what the "Skip" button is for – it's still funky. And for Prince, that's what matters.